Mahlup began to study knowledge and knowledge industry as early as 1950s. In his book Production and Distribution of American Knowledge (1962), Mahlup formally put forward the concept of "knowledge industry" in "Knowledge industry and its occupation", and gave the general category and the earliest classification model of knowledge industry. On this basis, the earliest measurement system of knowledge production and distribution in the United States, namely Mahlup's information economy measurement paradigm, is established. 1980- 1983 published three books "knowledge: its creation, distribution and economic significance". Including knowledge and knowledge production, knowledge branch, information economics and human capital. 1986 His successor compiled and published the American knowledge industry, 1960- 1980,1960-19809princeup, 1988. Mahlup is the first economist in the west to elaborate on the knowledge industry.
Fritz Machlup Mahlup's Main Contribution to the Theory of Knowledge Industry
1. clearly classifies knowledge, analyzes the production and distribution of academic knowledge, practical knowledge, gossip and recreational knowledge, expands the concept of "knowledge" in traditional economics, and lays a foundation for redefining the measurement scope of GNP and logically expanding the scope of GNP accounting system. Mahlup divides knowledge into five aspects:
(1) Practical knowledge: knowledge that is valuable to people's work, decision-making and behavior. Practical knowledge can be divided into: professional knowledge; Business knowledge; Labor knowledge; Political knowledge; Family knowledge; Other practical knowledge.
(2) Academic knowledge: the part of knowledge that can satisfy people's curiosity in academic creation. Academic knowledge is an integral part of educational liberalism, humanism, scientific knowledge and general culture.
(3) gossip and entertainment knowledge; It is the part of knowledge that satisfies people's non-academic curiosity, or the part that satisfies people's desire for relaxed entertainment and sensory stimulation. This kind of knowledge often includes local rumors, novels, stories, humor, games and so on. Most of them get it by passively relaxing "serious" things, so they tend to reduce their sensitivity.
(4) Spiritual knowledge: This kind of knowledge is related to religious knowledge such as God and the way to save the soul.
(5) Unwanted knowledge (redundant knowledge): This kind of knowledge is not the knowledge that people consciously acquire, but usually the knowledge that is left by accident or unconsciously.
Mahlup also analyzed the categories of knowledge from the perspectives of science and history, general abstraction and special concreteness, analysis and experience, eternity and temporality. Generally speaking, Mahlup's research on "knowledge industry" is basically to analyze the above five levels of knowledge, especially the production and distribution of the first three types of knowledge. In the study of 1980, Mahlup explained knowledge from the perspectives of secular knowledge, scientific knowledge, humanistic knowledge, social knowledge, artistic knowledge and wordless knowledge (such as audio-visual art), and put forward that knowledge is true, beautiful and excellent.
Mahlup's exposition on the classification and nature of knowledge has found a broad and comprehensive foothold for his theory of "knowledge industry", because it is difficult to talk about the research of knowledge industry in a strict sense without determining the scope of "knowledge" and distinguishing the branches within the knowledge category. Mahlup's analysis of the nature and classification of knowledge has expanded the scope of the concept of "knowledge" in traditional economics, laying the foundation for redefining the measurement scope of GNP and logically expanding the scope of GNP accounting system.
2. Mahlup regards science itself as a typical knowledge production activity, clearly puts forward that "knowledge is an investment", determines the economic significance of knowledge in society, and enriches the connotation of social investment and capital theory.
Mahlup believes that science itself is a typical knowledge production activity, and the knowledge produced by science can be regarded as an investment to improve future productivity. From another perspective, scientific knowledge, as one of the consumer goods in social life, is favored by some social members. People invest in it to acquire knowledge for their own consumption. Knowledge is still an investment, which is used by people as an intermediate product of society.
This economic significance of knowledge in social life makes Mahlup see that social investment and all its capital theories can be re-viewed from the perspective of knowledge. Mahlup distinguishes three basic forms of knowledge existence from various forms of knowledge products:
(1) Knowledge stored in technical specifications, which are based on expensive research and development and materials machines and tools specially manufactured from them. Such as computer software, aircraft fuselage, radar instruments, etc. This knowledge can be called human wisdom solidified in material form.
2) The knowledge stored in the activities of educated and trained "knowledge transmitters" and skilled workers, that is, the knowledge and skills possessed by individuals, constitutes the second form of knowledge storage.
(3) Knowledge stored in individuals, such as the invention of a new production and processing technology, a new computer software, etc., is neither a material machine nor a "knowledge transmitter" or a skilled worker, but exists in a special form or a form stipulated by society, which takes time and labor costs to produce and popularize. This knowledge is either possessed by some producers in the form of patents and forms a limited technical monopoly, or used by any individual or group in the form of public property to seek benefits from it.
He believes that the knowledge of scientific production is not only an investment to improve future productivity, but also an investment to consume it in social life. It redefines the economic significance of knowledge in society, makes people re-understand the theory of social investment and capital from the perspective of knowledge, and expands the connotation of social investment and capital theory. Mahlup's view has been recognized by many economists. The famous new growth theory holds that knowledge can improve the return on investment, and the return on investment can enhance the accumulation of knowledge. People can achieve the above goals by creating more effective production organization methods and producing new and improved products and services. Knowledge investment can improve the production capacity of other production factors and transform these production capacities into new products and new processes. Because these knowledge investments are characterized by improving the rate of return, they are the key factors of long-term economic growth.
3. The elements of human capital are added to the general capital theory, and it is pointed out that intangible non-human capital-"intangible capital" is bound to be related to certain knowledge activities and knowledge investment, and this "intangible capital" investment will bring benefits to society. It also predicts that when human society develops without knowledge capital, knowledge production activities in the economic field will inevitably appear in the form of "knowledge industry".
Mahlup pointed out that there are three forms of capital corresponding to the three forms of knowledge storage, and all capital theories will involve four basic concepts: durable but exhaustible, valuable but depreciable resource reserves; Can increase investment and accumulate resource reserves; The flow of services and benefits brought by capital and investment; Additional value formed by extra labor. In this way, Mahlup found the logical basis for his three forms of capital, and added the elements of human resources to the general capital theory. According to Mahlup, material or specific capital and human capital are closely related to knowledge factors, but only intangible capital and human capital are completely composed of knowledge. That is to say, material capital and human capital are not necessarily based on knowledge activities or knowledge investment, but intangible non-human capital must be related to certain knowledge activities or knowledge investment. The intangible non-human capital here is basically an intangible capital, which is the product of knowledge production activities such as education, research and development.
The simplest way to distinguish knowledge storage form from capital is to analyze the flow of various benefits brought by using them. Knowledge stored in machines and similar material forms is a form of transaction income based on the market sales price of things in these machines or material forms, or the sales income of products created by things in these machines or material forms reflects the return on their investment; The knowledge stored in individuals reflects the salary they get by improving the skills of workers; The benefits of knowledge stored in intangible non-individuals to improve labor productivity and the efficiency of production factors are embodied in the form of monopoly profits or increasing the actual income of producers.
Mahlup said that this return is an income brought by "intangible" capital. Since knowledge, as an "intangible" form of capital, can bring benefits to people, there is no reason to prevent market participants who pursue profit maximization from carrying out large-scale knowledge production activities. When these knowledge production activities reach the level that all aspects of human development can not be separated from knowledge capital, people begin to realize that it is not only necessary but also feasible to generalize and give special treatment to the social organization activities of knowledge production in the economic field.
Fritz Machlup II. Practical Significance of Mahlup's Theory of Knowledge Industry
McCullough chose 65,438+0,956 and 65,438+0,958 as the base years. Through the adjustment and calculation of the United States 1958 GNP, it is concluded that the United States' total knowledge production is1364.36 million dollars, accounting for 28.5% or 29% of its GNP. The contribution of branches of American knowledge industry to the gross national product from high to low is: education, media, information service, research and development, and information equipment. It can be considered that the ranking of the contribution of each branch of the knowledge industry to the gross national product is of great significance for analyzing the development structure and investment structure of the national economy. Mahlup also calculated the source of funds for the knowledge industry in the United States, from 65438 to 0958, indicating that consumers are the biggest supporters of the development of the knowledge industry, followed by manufacturers and enterprises, and the government's financial support for the knowledge industry is in the last position. Obviously, the financial support and its structure for the development of knowledge industry in the United States have reference value for the latecomers to formulate strategies and policies for the development of information industry. In addition, Mahlup found that in the gross national product of the United States, the growth rate of knowledge industry production is 2.5 times the average growth rate of other production departments. Accordingly, Mahlup predicts that in the near future, the output value of knowledge production in the United States will approach or exceed 50% of the gross national product.
Mahlup emphasized the important role of knowledge in economy, which has long been recognized by the American government and society. American investment in science and technology has been increasing. The proportion of research and development funds in government budget expenditure has increased from 65,438+0% in the 1940s to 65,438+0965, 65,438+0996 to 65,438+02.6%. The total expenditure on R&D activities is 65,438+. Mahlup's prediction about knowledge production has been confirmed by the current situation of American economic development. According to the calculation of the US Department of Commerce, as early as 1980s, the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress to the US economic growth has reached more than 50%. The greatest effect of knowledge and technology on the economy is to improve labor efficiency. Due to scientific and technological progress, the production efficiency of agriculture, industry and service industry in the United States is at the advanced level in the world. Knowledge and information are the first wealth. Computer king, software king and media king have replaced steel king, oil king and real estate king to become the richest man in the world, and wealth is increasingly concentrated in knowledge industry and information industry. This is enough to explain the role of knowledge in economic benefits. The knowledge industry with the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information as its main content has been formed and has become the leading industry in the new era.
Mahlup's research on knowledge industry has opened up a new research field. His theory of knowledge industry laid a preliminary foundation for further studying the measurement of knowledge production and the share of science and technology in the gross national product, provided a theoretical basis for re-understanding the role of knowledge in the world's new technological revolution and industrial revolution based on modern science and technology, and laid an important theoretical foundation for studying knowledge economy and knowledge industry.